SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES
A semiconductor device includes fin patterns on a substrate, at least one gate electrode intersecting the fin patterns, source/drain regions on upper surfaces of the fin patterns, and at least one blocking layer on a sidewall of a first fin pattern of the fin patterns, the at least one blocking layer extending above an upper surface of the first fin pattern of the fin patterns, wherein a first source/drain region of the source/drain regions that is on the upper surface of the first fin pattern has an asymmetric shape and is in direct contact with the at least one blocking layer.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/118,888 filed Dec. 11, 2020, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/992,401 filed May 30, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,896,957, which issued Jan. 19, 2021, both of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
Korean Patent Application No. 10-2018-0029753, filed on Mar. 14, 2018, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, and entitled: “Semiconductor Devices,” is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
BACKGROUND 1. FieldThe present disclosure relates to semiconductor devices and methods of forming the same.
2. Description of the Related ArtAs demand for high-performance, high-speed, and/or multifunctional semiconductor devices increases, the degree of integration of semiconductor devices has also increased. In manufacturing semiconductor devices having micropatterns in line with a trend for high degrees of integration in semiconductor devices, it is necessary to implement patterns having fine widths and spacings. Semiconductor devices including FinFETs with three-dimensional channels are being developed in order to overcome limitations in device characteristics due to the miniaturization of planar metal oxide semiconductor FETs (MOSFETs).
SUMMARYAn aspect of the present disclosure provides a semiconductor device, including fin patterns on a substrate, at least one gate electrode intersecting the fin patterns, source/drain regions on upper surfaces of the fin patterns, and at least one blocking layer on a sidewall of a first fin pattern of the fin patterns, the at least one blocking layer extending above an upper surface of the first fin pattern of the fin patterns, wherein a first source/drain region of the source/drain regions that is on the upper surface of the first fin pattern has an asymmetric shape and is in direct contact with the at least one blocking layer.
Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a semiconductor device, including at least first, second, third, and fourth fin patterns on a substrate, at least one gate electrode intersecting the at least first, second, third, and fourth fin patterns, source/drain regions on upper surfaces of the at least first, second, third, and fourth fin patterns, respectively, first and second source/drain regions of the source/drain regions being on upper surfaces of the first and second fin patterns, respectively, and in contact with each other to define a merged source/drain region, and at least one blocking layer on a sidewall of the first fin pattern, the at least one blocking layer extending above the upper surface of the first fin pattern, wherein the merged source/drain region has an asymmetric shape and is in direct contact with the at least one blocking layer.
Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a semiconductor device, including at least first, second, and third fin patterns on a substrate, at least one gate electrode intersecting the at least first, second, and third fin patterns, source/drain regions on upper surfaces of the at least first, second, and third fin patterns, respectively, a first source/drain region of the source/drain regions being on an upper surface of the first pattern, and being spaced apart from source/drain regions on the second and third fin patterns, and at least one blocking layer on a sidewall of the first fin pattern, the at least one blocking layer extending above the upper surface of the first fin pattern, wherein the first source/drain region of the source/drain regions has an asymmetric shape and is in direct contact with the at least one blocking layer, the first source/drain region having a different conductivity from adjacent source/drain regions on the second and third fin patterns.
Another aspect of the present disclosure provides a method of forming a semiconductor device, including forming fin patterns on a substrate, forming at least one gate electrode intersecting the fin patterns, forming an insulating layer on exposed surfaces of the fin patterns and gate electrodes, etching the insulating layer to form a blocking layer only on a first sidewall of a first fin pattern of the fin patterns, such that the blocking layer extends above an upper surface of the first fin pattern, and forming source/drain regions on upper surfaces of the fin patterns, such that a first source/drain region of the source/drain regions that is on the upper surface of the first fin pattern is formed in direct contact with the blocking layer to have an asymmetric shape.
Features will become apparent to those of skill in the art by describing in detail exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings, in which:
Hereinafter, example embodiments will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
Referring to
The semiconductor device 100 may include FinFET devices in which the first and second active fins 105A and 105B have a fin structure. The FinFET devices may include first and second transistors TR1 and TR2 arranged based on the first and second active fins 105A and 105B intersecting the gate structures 160. For example, the first and second transistors TR1 and TR2 may be NMOS and PMOS transistors, respectively.
The substrate 101 may include a top surface extending in an x-direction and a y-direction. The substrate 101 may include a semiconductor material, e.g., a Group IV semiconductor material, a Group III-V compound semiconductor material, or a Group II-VI oxide semiconductor material. For example, the Group IV semiconductor material may include silicon, germanium, or silicon-germanium. The substrate 101 may be provided in a form of a bulk wafer, an epitaxial layer, a silicon on insulator (SOI) layer, or a semiconductor on insulator (SeOI) layer.
The device isolation layers 110 may define the first and second active fins 105A and 105B in the substrate 101. The device isolation layers 110 may be formed, e.g., in a shallow trench isolation (STI) process. In some example embodiments, the device isolation layers 110 may include an area extending more deeply into a lower portion of the substrate 101 between the first active fins 105A and the second active fins 105B. The device isolation layers 110 may have curved top surfaces having a higher level in the vicinity of the first and second active fins 105A and 105B. However, the shape of the top surfaces of the device isolation layers 110 is not limited thereto. The device isolation layers 110 may be formed of an insulating material. The device isolation layers 110 may include, e.g., an oxide, a nitride, or a combination thereof
The first and second active fins 105A and 105B may be defined by the device isolation layers 110 in the substrate 101, and arranged to extend in a first direction, e.g., in the y-direction. The first and second active fins 105A and 105B may have a structure protruding from the substrate 101. Upper ends of the first and second active fins 105A and 105B may be disposed to protrude from the top surfaces of the device isolation layers 110 to a predetermined height. The first and second active fins 105A and 105B may be formed as a portion of the substrate 101, or may include an epitaxial layer grown from the substrate 101. However, the first and second active fins 105A and 105B may be partially recessed at sides of the gate structures 160 on the substrate 101, and the first and second source/drain areas 150A and 150B may be disposed on the recessed portion of first and second active fins 105A and 105B. Accordingly, as illustrated in
The first and second source/drain areas 150A and 150B may be respectively disposed on the first and second active fins 105A and 105B on either side of the gate structures 160. Each of the first and second source/drain areas 150A and 150B may be provided as a source area or a drain area of the first and second transistors TR1 and TR2. The first and second source/drain areas 150A and 150B may have an elevated source/drain structure in which top surfaces thereof are disposed higher than bottom surfaces of the gate structures 160, in particular, the gate electrodes 165.
The first source/drain areas 150A may have a different shape from the second source/drain areas 150B. For example, as illustrated in
In particular, the first source/drain areas 150A may be connected to or merged with each other on two adjacent first active fins 105A to form one first source/drain area 150A on the two adjacent first active fins 105A. However, the number of first active fins 105A disposed below the connected or merged first source/drain area 150A is not limited to that illustrated in the drawings, and may be variously modified according to example embodiments.
The first source/drain areas 150A may have an asymmetrical shape in the x-direction. As illustrated in
In detail, as illustrated in
The first source/drain areas 150A may be formed of a material having a different conductivity-type from the material of the second source/drain areas 150B. In particular, the first and second source/drain areas 150A and 150B may be formed in an epitaxial layer. For example, the first source/drain areas 150A may include silicon (Si) doped with n-type impurities, and the second source/drain areas 150B may include silicon germanium (SiGe) doped with p-type impurities. When the second source/drain areas 150B include silicon germanium (SiGe), it may apply stress to a channel area of the second transistor TR2, a portion of the second active fins 105B formed of silicon (Si), thereby improving hole mobility. In some example embodiments, the first and second source/drain areas 150A and 150B may include a plurality of areas including elements and/or doping elements with different concentrations.
The spacers 120 and the blocking layers 125 may be disposed on the device isolation layers 110 to be in contact with side surfaces of the first and second active fins 105A and 105B on upper ends of the first and second active fins 105A and 105B.
Upper ends of the spacers 120 may be disposed on the same level as, or on a lower level than, the upper ends of the first and second active fins 105A and 105B. The spacers 120 may have a spacer shape, but are not limited thereto. The shape of the spacers 120 may be variously modified according to manufacturing processes. The spacers 120 may be connected to each other below the first source/drain areas 150A, but are not limited thereto. In some example embodiments, lengths of the spacers 120 extending along top surfaces of the device isolation layers 110 may be variously modified. In some example embodiments, the spacers 120 may be connected to the blocking layers 125.
The blocking layers 125 may be disposed on sides of at least some of the first source/drain areas 150A to extend from the sidewall of the first active fin 105A to side surfaces of the first source/drain areas 150A, e.g., the blocking layer 125 may be disposed on one side of each merged first source/drain area 150A. For example, the blocking layers 125 may be in direct contact with an upper portion of the sidewall of the first active fin 105A and portions of the side surfaces of the first source/drain areas 150A, e.g., the blocking layers 125 may be flush against the first source/drain areas 150A. For example, as illustrated in
The blocking layers 125 may serve to suppress the lateral growth of the first source/drain areas 150A in contact with the blocking layers 125 during the manufacturing process. For example, the blocking layers 125 may ensure that source/drain areas of opposite conductivity, e.g., first and second source/drain areas 150A and 150B of PMOS and MNOS transistors, do not contact each other despite a small distance therebetween. Accordingly, the first source/drain areas 150A in contact with the blocking layers 125 may have the asymmetrical shape, and have a relatively small size, e.g., width, on the side contacting the blocking layers 125, e.g., left side in
A height H1 of the blocking layers 125 from the top surfaces of the first active fins 105A may be the same as or smaller than a height to a position at which the first source/drain areas 150A have the maximum width L1 in the lateral direction, i.e., in the x-direction. In some example embodiments, upper ends of the blocking layers 125 may be disposed on the same level as or at a lower level than the height of the first and second active fins 105A and 105B below the gate structure 160. Lower ends of the blocking layers 125 may be spaced apart from the sidewalls of the first active fins 105A and bent in the x-direction to extend along the top surfaces of the device isolation layers 110. Accordingly, the blocking layers 125 may have a chair shape. However, the shape of the blocking layers 125 may be variously modified according to example embodiments, which will be described in more detail with reference to
The spacers 120, the blocking layers 125, and the gate spacers 166 may be material layers formed in the same process but undergoing different subsequent processes. Accordingly, the spacers 120 and the blocking layers 125 may be formed of the same material, and the gate spacers 166 may also be formed of the same material. However, embodiments are not limited thereto. For example, the spacers 120 and the blocking layers 125 may be formed of a low-k material, e.g., at least one of SiO, SiN, SiCN, SiOC, SiON, and SiOCN.
The gate structure 160 may be disposed on the first and second active fins 105A and 105B to intersect the first and second active fins 105A and 105B, e.g., extend in the x-direction. Channel areas of the first and second transistors TR1 and TR2 may be formed in the first and second active fins 105A and 105B intersecting the gate structure 160. The gate structure 160 may include the gate dielectric layer 162, the gate electrode 165, and the gate spacers 166.
The gate dielectric layer 162 may be disposed between the first and second active fins 105A and 105B and the gate electrodes 165, and may cover bottom and side surfaces of the gate electrodes 165. In some example embodiments, the gate dielectric layer 162 may only be formed on the bottom surface of the gate electrode 165. The gate dielectric layer 162 may include an oxide, a nitride, or a high-k material. The high-k material may refer to a dielectric material having a higher dielectric constant than silicon oxide (SiO2). The high-k material may include, e.g., at least one of aluminum oxide (Al2O3), tantalum oxide (Ta2O3), titanium oxide (TiO2), yttrium oxide (Y2O3), zirconium oxide (ZrO2), zirconium silicon oxide (ZrSixOy), hafnium oxide (HfO2), hafnium silicon oxide (HfSixOy), lanthanum oxide (La2O3), lanthanum aluminum oxide (LaAlxOy), lanthanum hafnium oxide (LaHfxOy), hafnium aluminum oxide (HfAlxOy), and praseodymium oxide (Pr2O3).
The gate electrode 165 may include a conductive material. For example, the gate electrode 165 may include a metal nitride, e.g., titanium nitride (TiN), tantalum nitride (TaN), or tungsten nitride (WN), and/or a metal material, e.g., aluminum (Al), tungsten (W), or molybdenum (Mo), or a semiconductor material, e.g., doped polysilicon. The gate electrodes 165 may be formed as a multilayer structure including two or more layers. The gate electrode 165 may be separated by the gate isolation layer 130 between the adjacent transistors TR1 and TR2, according to configurations of the semiconductor device 100.
The gate spacers 166 may be disposed on both side surfaces of the gate electrode 165. The gate spacers 166 may isolate the first and second source/drain areas 150A and 150B from the gate electrodes 165. The gate spacers 166 may have a multilayer structure in some example embodiments. The gate spacers 166 may be formed of, e.g., an oxide, a nitride, or an oxynitride, and in particular, may be formed of a low-k material.
The gate isolation layer 130 may separate the gate electrode 165 between at least portions of the transistors TR1 and TR2. The gate isolation layer 130 may extend in a direction perpendicular to a direction, in which the gate electrode 165 extends, e.g., the y-direction, and serve to separate the gate dielectric layer 162 and the gate electrode 165. A bottom surface of the gate isolation layer 130 may be surrounded by the gate dielectric layer 162, but the arrangement of the gate isolation layer 130 is not limited thereto. In some example embodiments, the gate isolation layer 130 may not separate the gate dielectric layer 162 in the y-direction, or may separate the gate dielectric layer 162 together with at least a portion of the gate spacers 166. Further, the gate isolation layer 130 may include a plurality of layers.
Referring to
Thicknesses of an upper end portion, a center portion, and a lower end portion of the blocking layer 125 may be variously changed according to example embodiments. In addition, a length L3 of the lower end portion of the blocking layer 125 laterally extending from the sidewall of the first active fin 105A may also be variously changed according to example embodiments. As illustrated in
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
Referring to
In the semiconductor device 100d, a single source/drain area 150 may be disposed on a single active fin 105, unlike the merged source/drain area disposed on two adjacent active fins illustrated in
As described above with reference to
Referring to
First, a pad oxide pattern 142 and a mask pattern 144 may be formed on the substrate 101. The pad oxide pattern 142 may be a layer protecting top surfaces of the first and second active fins 105A and 105B, and may be omitted in some example embodiments. The mask pattern 144 may be formed to pattern the substrate 101, and may include, e.g., silicon nitride, a carbon-containing material, or the like. The mask pattern 144 may have a multilayer structure.
The trench areas TI may be formed by anisotropically etching the substrate 101 using the pad oxide pattern 142 and the mask pattern 144. Since the trench areas TI have a high aspect ratio, widths of the trench areas TI may decrease toward bottoms of the trench areas TI. Accordingly, widths of the first and second active fins 105A and 105B may decrease toward tops of the first and second active fins 105A and 105B.
Referring to
First, the trench areas TI may be filled with an insulating material and planarized. During the planarization process, at least a portion of the pad oxide pattern 142 and mask pattern 144 may be removed. In some example embodiments, a relatively thin liner may be formed in the trench areas TI before filling the trench areas TI with the insulating material.
Next, the first and second active fins 105A and 105B may protrude onto the device isolation layer 110 by partially removing the insulating material filling the trench areas TI from above. For example, the process may be a wet-etching process using at least a portion of the pad oxide pattern 142 as an etching mask. As a result, the first and second active fins 105A and 105B may protrude onto, e.g., above an upper surface of, the device isolation layer 110 to a predetermined height. The height of the first and second active fins 105A and 105B protruding onto the device isolation layer 110 may be variously modified according to example embodiments. During the etching process, the pad oxide pattern 142 may be removed.
Referring to
The first and second sacrificial layers 172 and 174 may be a sacrificial gate structure replaced with the gate dielectric layer 162 and the gate electrode 165 illustrated in
Referring to
The mask patterning layer 176 may include silicon oxide or silicon nitride. By the patterning process, the first and second sacrificial layers 172 and 174 may have a line shape intersecting the first and second active fins 105A and 105B and extending in the x-direction.
Referring to
The spacer-forming layer SR may be conformally formed on top surfaces and/or side surfaces of the first and second active fins 105A and 105B, the device isolation layer 110, the first and second sacrificial layers 172 and 174, and the mask patterning layer 176. The spacer-forming layer SR may be formed of a low-k material. For example, the spacer-forming layer SR may include at least one of SiO, SiN, SiCN, SiOC, SiON, and SiOCN.
Referring to
First, the first mask layer 182 may be formed to cover the first active fins 105A and expose only the second active fins 105B. The first mask layer 182 may be, e.g., a photoresist layer.
Next, the spacer-forming layer SR may be removed from top surfaces of the second active fins 105B to expose the top surfaces of the second active fins 105B, and the exposed second active fins 105B may further be recessed from the top to a predetermined depth. For example, the recess process may be performed sequentially using a dry-etching process and a wet-etching process. For example, as illustrated in
After the recess process, the second active fins 105B may have a smaller height than the first active fins 105A. As necessary, surfaces of the recessed second active fins 105B may be cured in an additional process performed after the recess forming process. Before or after the recess forming process, a process of injecting impurities into the second active fins 105B may be performed. The impurity injection process may be performed using the first mask layer 182 and the spacers 120 as a mask layer.
As discussed previously, the spacer-forming layer SR may be partially removed during the process of exposing the top surfaces of the second active fins 105B and the process of recessing the second active fins 105B. That is, the spacer-forming layer SR may be partially removed in the process of exposing the top surfaces of the second active fins 105B and further removed in the process of recessing the second active fins 105B. In particular, the spacer-forming layer SR may be removed relatively more in a horizontally deposited region and relatively less in a direction parallel to the z-direction, e.g., due to isotropic etching at an angle. Thus, the spacer-forming layer SR may form the spacers 120 on sidewalls of the second active fins 105B, and gate spacers 166 on side surfaces of the first and second sacrificial layers 172 and 174 and mask patterning layer 176. In some example embodiments, an etchback process may be undertaken on the spacer-forming layer SR before the first mask layer 182 is formed. In this case, the spacers 120 and the gate spacers 166 may be formed before the first mask layer 182 is formed.
Referring to
The second source/drain areas 150B may be formed using a selective epitaxial growth (SEG) process, for example. The second source/drain areas 150B may be, e.g., a silicon germanium (SiGe) layer. When silicon germanium (SiGe) is grown on the second active fins 105B formed of silicon (Si), a compressive stress may be generated in channel areas of the second transistors TR2 (refer to
Referring to
First, the first mask layer 182 may be removed and the passivation layer 155 covering the surfaces of the second source/drain areas 150B may be formed. The passivation layer 155 may serve to protect the surfaces of the second source/drain areas 150B and suppress additional growth of the second source/drain areas 150B. The passivation layer 155 may be formed of, e.g., silicon nitride.
Next, the second mask layer 184 may be formed to cover the second active fins 105B and only expose the first active fins 105A. The second mask layer 184 may be formed of the same material as the first mask layer 182. For example, the second mask layer 184 may be a photoresist layer. A distance D5 between an end of the second mask layer 184 and a left first active fin 105A may be smaller than a distance D6 between an end of the second mask layer 184 and a right first active fin 105A. In other words, as illustrated in
In detail, the width of the second mask 184 in the x-direction may be adjusted in accordance with a desired location of the blocking layer 125, thereby providing a sufficiently small distance in predetermined regions between the second mask 184 and the first active fins 105A to form the blocking layer 125 therein, as will be described in more detail below. For example, referring to
Referring to
In detail, the spacer-forming layer SR disposed on the top surfaces of the first active fins 105A may be removed to expose the top surfaces of the first active fins 105A, and the exposed first active fins 105A may be recessed further by a predetermined depth from the top to form recessed first active fins 105A. The recess process may be similar to the process of recessing the second active fins 105B described above with reference to
However, the spacer-forming layer SR may be only slightly removed from a left side surface of the left first active fin 105A having a relatively small distance from the second mask layer 184 (i.e., distance D5 in
For example, as illustrated in
For example, referring to
However, embodiments are not limited thereto. For example, the height and length of the blocking layer 125 may be variously changed according to a shape and arrangement of the second mask layer 184. For example, the widths of the second mask layers 184 may be controlled to adjust the distances D5 and D6 to desired values, so the height of the blocking layer 125 may be controlled, e.g., the total height HT of the blocking layer 125 increases with a decreasing distance D5 (
Referring to
The first source/drain areas 150A may be formed in a process similar to the process of forming the second source/drain areas 150B described above with reference to
As illustrated in
However, in the process of growing the first source/drain areas 150A, an area in contact with the blocking layer 125 may be suppressed from growing by the blocking layer 125. For example, as illustrated in
Referring to
First, the second mask layer 184 may be removed to form the interlayer insulating layer 190. The interlayer insulating layer 190 may be formed by depositing an insulating material to cover the first and second source/drain areas 150A and 150B, the mask patterning layer 176, and the gate spacers 166, and exposing a top surface of the second sacrificial layer 174 by a planarization process. Accordingly, the mask patterning layer 176 may be removed in this process. The interlayer insulating layer 190 may include, e.g., at least one of an oxide, a nitride, and an oxynitride, and a low-k material.
Next, the gate isolation layer 130 extending in the y-direction and separating second sacrificial layers 174 into right and left layers in the x-direction may be formed. The gate isolation layer 130 may be formed by forming an additional mask layer to partially remove the second sacrificial layer 174 and depositing a material forming the gate isolation layer 130 into a resultant space. For example, the gate isolation layer 130 may be formed of a different material from the second sacrificial layer 174 and the same material as the interlayer insulating layer 190, but is not limited thereto. In some example embodiments, the gate isolation layer 130 may have a line shape extending in the y-direction. In some example embodiments, the gate isolation layer 130 may be formed in another process, e.g., before forming the interlayer insulating layer 190 or after forming the gate structure 160 (refer to
Referring to
The first and second sacrificial layers 172 and 174 may be removed selectively with respect to the device isolation layer 110 and first and second active fins 105A and 105B disposed therebelow, to form an opening GR exposing the device isolation layer 110 and the first and second active fins 105A and 105B. The process of removing the first and second sacrificial layers 172 and 174 may be undertaken using at least one of a dry etching process and a wet etching process.
Referring to
The gate dielectric layer 162 may be substantially conformally formed along a sidewall and a bottom surface of the opening GR. The gate dielectric layer 162 may include, e.g., an oxide, a nitride, or a high-k material. The gate electrode 165 may be formed to fill an inner space formed by the gate dielectric layer 162. The gate electrode 165 may include, e.g., a metal or a semiconductor material. After forming the gate dielectric layer 162 and the gate electrode 165, materials remaining on the interlayer insulating layer 190 may be removed using a planarization process, e.g., a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process.
Referring to
First, the contact holes may be formed by removing portions of the interlayer insulating layer 190 disposed at each side of the gate structure 160 using an additional mask layer, e.g., a photoresist pattern. The contact holes may have bottom surfaces curved along top surfaces of the first and second source/drain areas 150A and 150B. When removing the interlayer insulating layer 190, upper portions of the first and second source/drain areas 150A and 150B may be partially recessed.
Next, the contact plugs 195, electrically connected to the first and second source/drain areas 150A and 150B, may be formed by depositing the conductive material in the contact holes. In some example embodiments, the shape and arrangement of the contact plugs 195 may be variously modified.
Referring to
The first driver transistor TN1 consisting of an NMOS transistor and the first load transistor TP1 consisting of a PMOS transistor may configure a first inverter, and the second driver transistor TN2 consisting of an NMOS transistor and the second load transistor TP2 consisting of a PMOS transistor may configure a second inverter NMOS. At least one of the first and second driver transistors TN1 and TN2, the first and second load transistors TP1 and TP2, and the first and second access transistors TN3 and TN4 may include the semiconductor device according to the various embodiments.
Output terminals of the first and second inverters may be connected to sources of the first and second access transistors TN3 and TN4. In addition, input terminals and output terminals of the first and second inverters may be cross-connected with each other to form one latch circuit. In addition, drains of the first and second access transistors TN3 and TN4 may be connected to first and second bitlines BL and /BL, respectively.
Referring to
The communications unit 1010 may include a wired/wireless communications module, e.g., a wireless internet module, a short-range communications module, a GPS module, or a mobile communications module. The wired/wireless communications module included in the communications unit 1010 may be connected to an external communications network by a variety of communications standards to transmit and receive data.
The input 1020 is a module supplied to a user to control operations of the electronic apparatus 1000, and may include, e.g., a mechanical switch, a touchscreen, a voice recognition module, or the like. In addition, the input 1020 may include, e.g., a trackball, a laser pointer mouse, or a finger mouse, and may further include a variety of sensor modules in which a user can input data.
The output 1030 may output information processed by the electronic apparatus 1000 in an audio or video form. The memory 1040 may store a program for processing or controlling the processor 1050, data, or the like. The processor 1050 may write data or read data by transmitting a command to the memory 1040 according to a required operation.
The memory 1040 may be embedded in the electronic apparatus 1000, or may communicate with the processor 1050 via a separate interface. When the memory 1040 communicates with the processor 1050 via the separate interface, the processor 1050 may write data to, or read data from, the memory 1040 using a variety of interface standards, e.g., secure digital (SDSC), secure digital high capacity (SDHC), secure digital extended capacity (SDXC), MICRO SD, or universal serial bus (USB).
The processor 1050 may control operations of each unit included in the electronic apparatus 1000. The processor 1050 may perform controlling or processing operations related to voice calls, video calls, or data communication, or may control or process operations for multimedia playback and management. In addition, the processor 1050 may process an input transmitted via the input 1020 from a user, and then output a result thereof via the output 1030. Further, the processor 1050 may write data required to control operations of the electronic apparatus 1000 to the memory 1040, or read data from the memory 1040, as described above. At least one of the processor 1050 and the memory 1040 may include the semiconductor device according to the various example embodiments described above with reference to
Referring to
The controller 2100 may function to execute a program or control the system 2000. The controller 2100 may be, e.g., a microprocessor, a digital signal processor, a microcontroller, or the like.
The input/output 2200 may be used to input data to the system 2000 or output data from the system 2000. The system 2000 may be connected to an external device, e.g., a personal computer or a network, through the input/output 2200 to exchange data with the external device. The input/output 2200 may be, e.g., a keypad, a keyboard, or a display.
The memory 2300 may store code and/or data for operating the controller 2100, and/or data processed in the controller 2100.
The interface 2400 may be a data transmission path between the system 2000 and an external device. The controller 2100, the input/output 2200, the memory 2300, and the interface 2400 may communicate through a bus 2500.
At least one of the controller 2100 and the memory 2300 may include the semiconductor device according to the various example embodiments described above with reference to
By way of summation and review, a shape of source/drain areas may be controlled by a blocking layer, and thereby a semiconductor device having improved reliability may be provided. That is, according to embodiments, a blocking layer is formed on at least one side of the source/drain areas in order to suppress growth of the source/drain area toward an adjacent source/drain area, thereby ensuring a margin between the adjacent source/drain areas. Such a blocking layer may be formed by adjusting a distance between a mask layer and an active fin during a manufacturing process to form the blocking layer from a same initial layer as the spacers.
Example embodiments have been disclosed herein, and although specific terms are employed, they are used and are to be interpreted in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purpose of limitation. In some instances, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art as of the filing of the present application, features, characteristics, and/or elements described in connection with a particular embodiment may be used singly or in combination with features, characteristics, and/or elements described in connection with other embodiments unless otherwise specifically indicated. Accordingly, it will be understood by those of skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as set forth in the following claims.
Claims
1. A method of forming a semiconductor device, the method comprising:
- forming fin patterns on a substrate;
- forming at least one gate electrode intersecting the fin patterns;
- forming an insulating layer on exposed surfaces of the fin patterns and the at least one gate electrode;
- etching the insulating layer to form a blocking layer only on a first sidewall of a first fin pattern of the fin patterns, such that the blocking layer extends above an upper surface of the first fin pattern; and
- forming source/drain regions on upper surfaces of the fin patterns, such that a first source/drain region of the source/drain regions that is on the upper surface of the first fin pattern is formed in direct contact with the blocking layer to have an asymmetric shape,
- wherein etching the insulating layer includes: forming a mask on a second fin pattern of the fin patterns adjacent the first sidewall of the first fin pattern, and adjusting a distance between a sidewall of the mask and the first sidewall of the first fin pattern, such that material of the insulating layer remains on the first sidewall of the first fin pattern during etching.
2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein etching the insulating layer includes simultaneously forming the blocking layer on the first sidewall of the first fin pattern and spacers on remaining sidewalls of the fin patterns, such that a height of the blocking layer is larger than heights of the spacers.
3. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein a height level of upper ends of the spacers are substantially a same as a height level of upper ends of the first and second fin patterns or lower.
4. The method as claimed in claim 2, wherein etching the insulating layer includes etching the insulating layer and the fin patterns.
5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first source/drain region in direct contact with the blocking layer defines a NMOS transistor, and another source/drain region of the source/drain regions defines a PMOS transistor, the blocking layer being between the NMOS and PMOS transistors.
6. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein:
- the blocking layer is in direct contact with a first side surface of the first source/drain region,
- the first side surface of the first source/drain region includes a first side flush against the blocking layer and a second side extending upward directly from an upper end of the first side in a direction oriented toward an extension of a central vertical axis of the first fin pattern to form a vertex between the first side and the second side, and
- an upper end of the blocking layer is at a substantially same height level as a position of the vertex at which the first source/drain region has a maximum width.
7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the blocking layer is formed with an inclined side surface declining from a top of the blocking layer toward the upper surface of the first fin pattern.
8. A method of forming a semiconductor device, the method comprising:
- forming first, second, third, and fourth fin patterns sequentially disposed in a first direction on a substrate;
- forming at least one gate electrode intersecting the first, second, third, and fourth fin patterns;
- forming an insulating layer on exposed surfaces of the first, second, third, and fourth fin patterns and the at least one gate electrode;
- etching the insulating layer to form a blocking layer only on a first sidewall of the second fin pattern, such that the blocking layer extends above an upper surface of the second fin pattern; and
- forming second and third source/drain regions on upper surfaces of the second and third fin patterns, respectively, such that the second source/drain region on the upper surface of the second fin pattern is formed in direct contact with the blocking layer,
- wherein etching the insulating layer includes simultaneously forming the blocking layer on the first sidewall of the second fin pattern and spacers on a second sidewall of the second fin pattern and opposite sidewalls of each of the first, third, and fourth fin patterns, such that a height of the blocking layer is larger than heights of the spacers.
9. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein an upper surface of the second source/drain region is substantially flat.
10. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein:
- the second and third source/drain regions are in contact with each other to define a merged source/drain region, and
- the merged source/drain region has an asymmetric shape based on a center of the merged source/drain region in the first direction.
11. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein etching the insulating layer includes:
- forming a mask on the first and fourth fin patterns; and
- adjusting a distance between a sidewall of the mask and the first sidewall of the second fin pattern, such that a material of the insulating layer remains on the first sidewall of the second fin pattern during etching.
12. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein the spacers extend to a same height level as the first, second, third, and fourth fin patterns or lower, the spacers having a height lower than a height of the blocking layer.
13. The method as claimed in claim 8, wherein an area of the second source/drain region in contact with the blocking layer is suppressed from growing by the blocking layer to have an asymmetric structure.
14. The method as claimed in claim 13, wherein a first side of the second source/drain region on the second fin pattern grows farther along the first direction than a second side of the second source/drain region that contacts the blocking layer.
15. A method of forming semiconductor device, the method comprising:
- forming first, second, third, and fourth fin patterns sequentially disposed in a first direction on a substrate;
- forming at least one gate electrode intersecting the first, second, third, and fourth fin patterns;
- forming an insulating layer on exposed surfaces of the first, second, third, and fourth fin patterns and the at least one gate electrode;
- etching the insulating layer to form a blocking layer only on a first sidewall of the second fin pattern, such that the blocking layer extends above an upper surface of the second fin pattern; and
- forming second and third source/drain regions on upper surfaces of the second and third fin patterns, respectively, such that the second source/drain region that is on the upper surface of the second fin pattern is formed in direct contact with the blocking layer,
- wherein upper surfaces of the second and third source/drain regions are substantially flat.
16. The method as claimed in claim 15, wherein etching the insulating layer includes simultaneously forming the blocking layer on the first sidewall of the second fin pattern and spacers on a second sidewall of the second fin pattern and opposite sidewalls of each of the first, third, and fourth fin patterns, such that a height of the blocking layer is larger than heights of the spacers.
17. The method as claimed in claim 16, wherein the spacers extend to a same height level as the first, second, third, and fourth fin patterns or lower, the spacers having a height lower than a height of the blocking layer.
18. The method as claimed in claim 15, wherein etching the insulating layer includes:
- forming a mask on the first and fourth fin patterns; and
- adjusting a distance between a sidewall of the mask and the first sidewall of the second fin pattern, such that a material of the insulating layer remains on the first sidewall of the second fin pattern during etching.
19. The method as claimed in claim 15, wherein:
- the second and third source/drain regions are in contact with each other to define a merged source/drain region, and
- the merged source/drain region has an asymmetric shape based on a center of the merged source/drain region in the first direction.
20. The method as claimed in claim 15, further comprising forming first and fourth source/drain regions on upper surfaces of the first and fourth fin patterns, respectively, such that the second source/drain region has a maximum width smaller than a maximum width of the first source/drain region in the first direction.
Type: Application
Filed: Mar 1, 2023
Publication Date: Jun 29, 2023
Patent Grant number: 12100735
Inventors: Namkyu Edward CHO (Seongnam-si), Seung Soo HONG (Incheon), Geum Jung SEONG (Seoul), Seung Hun LEE (Hwaseong-si), Jeong Yun LEE (Hwaseong-si)
Application Number: 18/115,913